(Lee Siler) - News that government owned Dubai World is in a financial crisis rocked stock markets worldwide. While our markets dropped more than 1.5% on a holiday shortened trading day, markets abroad took the bigger hit. After the dust settled, it appears that the U.S. has limited exposure in Dubai. However, the news is not as good in Europe. The talk is that the United Kingdom has the biggest exposure to this troubled state. Although Dubai World is owned by the country of Dubai, it is not guaranteed by the government. This should not be a surprise. All of the debt accumulated by Dubai World was accumulated with the understanding that it was not backed by the government. The good news is that the oil rich country and neighbor of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, said it would make sure the banks are solvent and lend some financial assistance.

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(Lee Siler) - Stocks look to build on last week's gains, as this week will be packed with economic data. This morning, retail sales came in a little better than expected. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales increased by 1.4% during the month of October. However, if you strip auto and auto parts sales, the number came in less than expected. Ex-auto's, economists had been expecting a jump by 0.4%, but actually came in about half of that number at 0.2%.

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(Lee Siler) - Stocks traded lower on the day, but the damage could've been much worse. Investors were concerned about the lack of interest in the U.S. Treasury auction. The government's ability to sell Treasury's is paramount to fund our national spending. These auctions have put pressure on the bonds and hence, have seen yields soar over the past month.

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(Lee Siler) - The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index climbed to 67.9 for May; it hasn’t been this high since before the credit crunch. The index’s consumer expectations gauge was 69.0, up from 63.1 in April.

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